Greenwood company to add 245 new jobs by 2020

Gov. Mike Pence speaks to a crowd on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, about Tilson’s expansion plans and the growth of Indiana’s business sector. The human resources consulting company located in Greenwood is planning a $1.55 million expansion and the hiring of 245 new employees by 2020.(Photo: Ellen Garrison / The Star)Buy Photo

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence called Tilson a "great Indiana success story," as the Greenwood company announced a major expansion Wednesday, including plans to hire more than 200 employees.

Founded 20 years ago, the human resources consulting company now employs 70 people.

But President and CEO Brent Tilson said the company will soon get much bigger: On Wednesday, he said he will invest $1.55 million in the company's headquarters on American Way and hire 245 employees by 2020.

"It is a credit to the path the people of Indiana have chosen to be on for the past few years," Pence said."We think we're just a few weeks away from being able to announced a new record of private-sector employment in the state of Indiana. And it's people like Brent Tilson and companies like Tilson that are making that happen."

According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Indiana gained about 62,000 jobs between May 2014 and May 2015.

Tilson is a Professional Employer Organization that aids small businesses with their human resources and employee benefits needs.

Tilson said the growth of his business indicates that the business sector is growing as a whole, since PEOs are dependent on other companies requiring their services. A growing PEO company equals a growing small-business sector, he said.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said Tilson's success within Greenwood should show the next generation of residents the potential of investing in their own community, rather than going to other cities or states for jobs and entreprenurial opportunities.

"It's a model for how a business can stay right here in Greenwood and still evolve," Myers said.

The expansion was also made possible by the Indiana Economic Development Corp., which offered Tilson over $1 million in tax credits conditional on the company's job-creation pledge.